Thursday, August 15, 2013

My Favourite Way to Apply Cream Blush

Hi all,

Wow.. it’s been an absolute crazy month and I really haven’t had much time to sit down and type out a post. Here is my first one in awhile!

Today I want to talk about something that at one point in the last year I really hated. Cream blush! It is exactly as it sounds.. blush that has been potted into a cream form. I never really understood how to apply cream blush and when I tried I always, always failed. It was very discouraging! Cream blush is way harder to apply than most powder blushes which I am very used to. One main difference is that it melts into the skin as opposed to sitting on top of it like a powder which does not allow much room for error.

I decided to try cream blush again a few weeks ago and picked some up when I made a major E.L.F haul. During this purchase I also decided to get a stippling brush which was only $3!!! This is key to my application and will be mentioned again later. While shopping I decided to pick out this blush in the shade Seductress. This shade is FABULOUS, looks wonderful on and has a matte look to it which I thought would be perfect for fall :). I now have another cream blush from NYX in the shade Rose Petal which I received yesterday in my Ipsy Beauty Bag (which will be reviewed soon and posted next week). This one is slightly different in texture and gives me more of a dewy look.. though it is not sparkly which I am happy about.

Cream blush is not something you want to try for the first time when you have somewhere to be.. this takes practice! With practice comes perfection and that is why I am posting!

When I applied cream blush with my fingers it just didn’t work. It looked streaky, uneven and just plain bad! I almost gave up on the cream blush and thought “Screw this stuff! I’ll stick to my loyal and user friendly MAC blush” (which is still seriously the shiiiiiiiiit. I use and LOVE springsheen). I am happy I didn’t! I remember thinking “why the hell did I get a stippling brush? I’ll never use liquid foundation!” *light bulb* “o0 I have an idea!!” I picked up my blush and stippling brush and decided to try them together. MAAGGGGIIIICCCC!!!! I have to be honest and admit I used WAYYYYY too much blush and looked VERY, VERY flush. The E.L.F blush is very highly pigmented which means I only need 1-2 applications while using VERY, VERY little product.

To say I was pleasantly surprised was an understatement! Here are my daily steps (yep this is now my go to blush!):

Apply primer & foundation

Pick up stippling brush and dab it VERY lightly (barely touching) 2-3 times in the cream blush

Start to apply to your cheeks by dabbing it quickly and moving the brush up towards your ear. (I start directly under the apples). I tend to rotate the brush in my hands while I am doing this.NOTE: DO NOT RUB OR BLEND.. DAB or lightly buff!!

Continue doing this until there are no more dots on your face :)

If you do not think you have enough pigmentation start over from step 2